Am I alone feeling like this? Is it a
mom-of-teenagers-and-older-kids thing?

The other day, after introducing myself to a group and
getting no response (none!!), and after saying something to my son and getting
no response (until I reminded him I’m mom), and after saying something and
having my husband talk over me, changing what I said, I began to feel kinda…
vapory. Floaty. Was I really
there? Did I really say anything? Maybe I just imagined it all… But I knew I
hadn’t imagined those things.

Then I got downright mad.

I did. (Does it count if hormones were screaming in the
background?)

I don’t get mad like that often. Thank goodness. But then
the edge of anger left and I fell into a pit I hate. Self-pity. ugh.

After wallowing around in self-pity for way too long I
decided to just be a ghost. I like being a hermit so settling into ghosthood
shouldn’t be bad. Right? Talking to myself is normal. At least for me it is.

But then I heard that still, small Voice.

I hear you.

…if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He
hears him. John 9:31b NAS

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The
Lord hears when I call to Him. Psalm 4:3 NAS

I’m not talking in a bubble.

God hears me.

And when I’m honest with myself, I know the others hear me
too—they’re just busy in their own world to acknowledge mine. It’s okay. I get
it. Sadly, I’ve done the same to others.

Just knowing God hears me, and listens to me, was enough to
pull me out of my self-pity.I
mean—the God of the Universe hears me.Me! The spoiled, whining, self-pitying bump-on-the-log me.

It’s okay if others don’t acknowledge what I say. I can be Casper—the
friendly ghost.

Since Patty quit running from God's call on her life and surrendered her pen to Him, she's been happy. Life is never dull as she juggles being a wife, mom to a handful of kids and a couple of Capuchin monkeys, life on the road, and being a writer. As long as she's obeying God's leading, she figures that sanity is a novelty and not a necessity in the zoo she lives in. Patty clings to the promise that God will enable her to do what He asks of her, otherwise she would be living with the scaredy cats at the Funny Farm and not just occasionally visiting. You can find her on Instagram, too, where she daily sneaks in a few sane moments.